Rain on the Window Sill
by Iyami
Summary: A strange house looms above Suuichi Minamino as he walkes home from school. Inside the house, an even stranger girl watches the red headed demon in disguise every day as he journies home. Her mysteries and Suuichi's hidden life are closer they know
1. The Strange Girl in the Window

Here's my first story. I hope you like it! Tell me what you think of it, and if you have any suggestions. I'm always open to suggestions or critiquing.

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The street outside the window was dark with the rain that had been falling for days. No. It had been months. The trees dipped under the moisture they had accumulated over the passing weeks. Several of the great oaks had fallen, their roots stretched toward the sky like tortured fingers grasping for the freeing light of day. Every hill had been scraped at by the rain until there was hardly a hill left. There were many piles of mud and rocks to be sure, but the gracious mounds that once lay so proud and healthy existed only in memory. 

Against the reflection of the light on the inside there sat a figure draped in green and black. Her hair lay limp over one shoulder, which was slumped with fatigue. Her once dazzling blue-green eyes now were dull and emotionless. They were barely open because of her exhaustion, but if she closed her eyes, they would come for her again, she just knew it.

Outside the window, a boy with long red hair down his straight back walked down the dark street. The movement caught the girl in the windows eye and she turned slowly to look at him. He walked with grace and precision, his book bag slung over his shoulder. A smile tugged at the girl's mouth as she examined his green school uniform. It was so nice and clean, barely a wrinkle in the fabric. She looked down at her own outfit. Her dress had once been nice and new. Now it was worn and tattered with age and hard days.

Slowly and very laboriously, she stood and leaned against the sill, her arm shielding her raw forehead from the cold that came through the window from the outside world. The boy continued to walk down the street until he reached the corner and disappeared out of view. Kara, for that was the girl's name, waved goodbye to him, promising to wait for him to come by again tomorrow.

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"Suuichi!" Suuichi turned around slowly, his eyebrow raised in question at the three girls that trailed behind him through the school hallways. He paused in his quest of reaching the school doors and facing the downpour that waited outside, and halted for the girls to catch up. The girls ran to him and stopped, gasping for breath. Suuichi waited for whatever it was they required of him. One of the girls he knew from his history class. Her name was Rina, or something like that. Rina was a fairly attractive girl with straight brown hair done up in a blue ribbon. She was not short, but not tall either, and in her round face laid bright blue eyes. The two others he did not know, though he supposed he should. The taller of the two was slender with a square face and brown eyes under delicate eyebrows, and a tan complexion that was clearly bought at a salon. The third girl was the shortest of the three and a little pudgy, although she was not fat, and had black hair, brown almond eyes, and a round face. All three wore the school uniform that made the girls look like sailors, with the white top with short, puffy sleeves, and small, cape like collars. The pleated skirts were a navy blue, and most of the girls chose to wear high tube socks and shiny black shoes as a fashion statement. Like all the other students, these girls did not have their shoes on; having them stored in the cubbies in the schools entryway. 

"Is there something I can do for you?" Suuichi asked kindly, his emerald eyes dazzling with charm. He himself was handsome; a tall boy of sixteen with long, crimson hair that many of the male students thought had to be unnatural and made him look like a girl, and a slightly round, but very kind, face. Suuichi continued to wait for the girls, two of which had decided to giggle uncontrollably, to tell him their business. Rina, on the other hand, was quite calm and merely smiled sweetly at him.

"I was just wondering" she said softly in a voice that was used to dealing with boys, "If you would consider going over the history material with me, you being the smartest of our school. I just don't feel like I'm understanding all the political issues that we're going over." She continued smiling at him and blinked long lashes slowly at him. Internally, Suuichi rolled his eyes, but on the outside, smiled in return.

"I would love to" he said as sincerely as possible "just tell me when you're open, and I'll help you with whatever you need." He was used to dealing with the girls at his school. He didn't know what it was about him, but girls just loved the sweet and quiet Suuichi Minamino. It was very trying, especially when they followed him about outside of school.

Rina's smile exploded and she clasped her hands together in front of her. "Great!" she said enthusiastically "I'll call you then." And with that, Rina and her gang of giggling girls went back toward the classrooms. Suuichi looked after them, shaking his head, the tips of some shorter pieces of hair brushing against his cheeks.

Turning back to the shoe racks, he slung his book bag over his shoulder and found his shoes, slipping them on with ease, and pushed his way through the doors to face the drippy world outside.

Suuichi had forgotten an umbrella. Even though the sky was covered over with clouds and threatened to rain, once again, he had ignored the warnings of his mother to be prepared for a storm and left without one. He didn't mind. Leaving the safe roof of the school allowed the rain to gather on his sholders and in his hair, giving his the appearance of a person who has spent a morning on a cliff by the sea, enjoying the cold spray that came from the waves.

He walked down the street and turned a corner, traveled to it's end, and turned down another street. He did all this without thought, having walked home from school so many times before. On this last street, there lay a house. It didn't fit in with all the others on this street with its stone walls and red roof while all the others were white-washed stucco with tiled roofs. It was pleasant looking, none the less. It was large, two stories with many rooms both downstairs and up. Two windows faced the street. They were wrapped in wrought iron and dark even on the brightest day. Something about the house made Suuichi nervous, and more specifically, something about those windows. Maybe it was the inability to see inside or the way it felt likehe was being watched. Suuichi continued walking and turned the corner onto his street and ventured toward his home.

Inside the house, the girl watched, silent as always.


	2. Beasts and the Mist

Here's the second chapter of my story. Sorry it took so long. I know it's not very long, but bare with me! Please review.

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Kurama was walking through a green wood, his bare feet crunching lightly against the gravel of the pathway. Around him, a thick mist was developed, making the scenerymore an more eerieby the second. He shivered and pulled his thin shirt tighter around his shoulders.

The path he walked on rose suddenly to meet a house on the top of a hill. Curiously, he walked up to it. It was the same house that loomed above him on his walk home, only he could see through the windows of this house. In the window above the door he saw a pale figure in a white dress, a veil covering her face and hair. She stood up and twirled in front of the full-length mirror that stood a little out from the wall, her white skirts billowing out like delicate clouds. She seemed so happy.

Kurama approached the house and was lifted off the ground to hover at eye level to the window. He looked in and saw the girl brushing her brown hair. She looked like a bride; her dress was certainly a bridal gown. Just as she put the brush down, a loud crash drew Kurama's attention to the door.

In the frame stood a lean, but powerful, figure, his black hair coming down to just past his waist. A mask covered the lower half of his lean face and dark eyes lay under thing black brows. He advanced on the girl and grabbed her wrists, forcing her to her knees. She looked at him in shock, her blue-green eyes wide with terror. He said something to her that Suuichi couldn't hear and when she didn't answer, he hit her. She sprawled on the floor, her dress ripping at the seam in the arm. She held her cheek and looked at him defiantly. She yelled at the man which making him bristle. He advanced toward her, but a hand caught his arm. The hand's owner was another man, this one with a strong build that was bulkier then the other. He wore elegant sunglasses, and had short black hair that accentuated prominent cheekbones and a pointed chin. He calmly told the other man something and he looked at the girl as she got to her feet.

Both men turned to go and the girl yelled after them. They ignored her and she yelled it again. She tried a third time, but they just closed the door on her. She then flung herself at the door, pounding on it with all her might. Angrily, she ripped the veil off her head and flung it at the wall. Clutching her arms, she went back to her chair and sat down, her cheek starting to swell where the tall man had hit her.

Kurama had grown coldly angry when he saw her hit. Men should not hit women, especially defenseless ones like this girl. She really was just a girl, no older then sixteen at the most. Just as he was about to touch the glass of the window, he was yanked back along the path and out of sight of the house, the mist cutting off his sight of it. He fought against the power that tugged him back, but it just grew tighter and tighter.

Suuichi sat up suddenly in his room, his blankets wrapped tightly around him. He was shivering and gasping for breath. 'What was that?' he thought to himself, remembering the dream and the house a street away. The images of the two men came back to him. He recognized them both. The tall one had been Karasu, whom he himself had killed. Suuichi remembered the fight with a shiver. It had very nearly cost him his life. The other figure upset him more then Karasu did. That man, the man with the high cheekbones and sunglasses, that man was Toguro. The very same Toguro that Yusuke had killed in the finals.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of the dream, Suuichi looked at the clock. It was 5:00 in the morning on Saturday. Running a hand through his hair, Suuichi got up and went downstairs for breakfast


	3. Troubled Thoughts

Thank you for your patience with me for not making a new chapter sooner. I'm sorry for the delay! Also, thank you to those who reviewed, I appreciate it. Read and review, and tell me if there are any errors, sometimes I miss them. I love having criticism! Thank you again

Iyami

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Suuichi thumped down the stairs to the kitchen. He wasn't even tired, even with his lack of sleep. Turning a corner, he entered the kitchen and found his mother sitting at the table stirring a bowl of porridge absently. What occupied her mind lay in her hands. The newspaper exclaimed over the strange fake bodies found near a local park that seemed so real, that doctors were fooled into believing they had once been living. This was clearly impossible because of their appearance. They were described as having red, green, or blue skin, red eyes with cat pupils, horns, claws, and other assortments of traits that were clearly not human. 

Suuichi winced as he read the paper over his mother's shoulder. The bodies were the remains of a fight that Yusuke, Hiei, and himself were assigned by Koenma. Kuwabara had not been present, which was just as well. The demons had not been much of a problem for the three experienced fighters, but it was better safe than sorry.

Suuichi shook his head and sat down at the table, his bowl filled with the warm gruel that his mother had made. He began to eat, but not from hunger, but from lack of something else to do. Suuichi's thoughts were elsewhere, at the house with its empty windows that looked like sad eyes without a soul. He thought of the girl in the window, her sad life under the two demons who were notorious for their cruelty. When did those events occur? Were they just a fabrication of his mind? Or had it been sent to him? Suuichi shook his head, trying to dismiss these questions.

Suuichi realized his mother had been talking to him. "It's really such a shame that people have to play pranks like this" she was saying "The people who found those fake bodies must have thought they found someone real."

"People have a fascination with making others hurt" Suuichi said absently.

"It's really a shame that people are so cruel. Luckily, I have a good son that doesn't take other people lightly" his mother replied, smiling brightly at her son. After her illness, Suuichi had realized just how much he loved this woman, her humanity and all. He himself had grown more and more human over the years. It was a strange experience, one that he had not intended for when he entered the child that grew in this woman's belly.

Finished with his breakfast, Suuichi gave his mother's shoulder a squeeze and returned to his room. 'Perhaps I should go back to that house' he thought to himself 'If that dream did happen, then perhaps the girl is real. There's no use in taking chances. That's Yusuke's thing' Suuichi chuckled to himself over this last thought and began to get ready for the day, pulling on white, loose pants that tightened at the ankle under a green over-robe with a peacock embroidered in a dark green, purple and a dazzling gold. It was one of his favorite outfits along with an over-robe with a dragon design.

He trotted downstairs and pulled on his black, padded slippers and walked outside. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Suuichi breathed the air in deeply and sighed. This life of humanity was peaceful. It was just the life that every demon wished for after they were tired of bloodshed. Not all demons were as lucky as him in his lifestyle, and he pitied them. Perhaps, one day, the creatures of darkness could learn that there were other things besides fighting and killing, hoping desperately to survive another day.


	4. Beasts Behind the Door

The newest chapter is finished, and I know, it's short. I have a tendency to do that. Sorry! I just wanted to keep this one short to build up the intesity. Please read and review, and thank you to those who have commented, it is greatly appreciated

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Kurama's thoughts crowded his mind as he strode down his street and around the corner to the house, the rain that had lasted through the night lessening by a fraction. The house loomed above him as it always had, the iron gates and sills that gripped the windows dripping with mist. A halting stream of water dripped off the roof where the gutter had been clogged to fall over the window that Suuichi had seen the girl through in his dream. Could she have been real? She had to be Suuichi decided. Karasu and Toguro had been there and they had been real enough in life.

Leaning on the gate, he looked up into the face of the building. He had to at least check and make sure that the girl wasn't there. The worst case was that someone else lived there now, and he would be slightly embarrassed. There was nothing for it but to go in.

Still Suuichi halted. And what was he supposed to do if she was there? he asked himself. Was he supposed to take her home with him? How would he explain that to his mother? Just say 'Oh, mom, I found this girl because of a dream I had. Can we keep her?' No. He would figure out what to do once he found if she actually existed and wasn't just a phantom that haunted his mind.

Gathering his thoughts Suuichi pushed against the gate. It held firmly in place, to his exasperation. He looked over the fence and looked for a latch; there was none. Stealing himself from growling in frustration like Yusuke would, Kurama jumped over the fence and caught his pants leg on one of the spikes that protruded from the top. He fell to the ground most ungracefully and unlike himself. Pushing off the ground, Suuichi flipped his hair out of his face in a very girlish manner and strode toward the door, examining the rip in his pants with depression. They were his favorite pants too!

Lifting his gaze back to the door, Kurama stopped. With an expert eye, he examined the oak door with distrust. It was his nature to distrust anything he was not familiar with, even things he was familiar with. As far as he could see, there were no secret latches that would trip alarms or send nasty surprises at unsuspecting visitors. With his inspection finished, Kurama raised a hesitant hand to the door. What if Karasu and Toguro had not been killed? What if they waited beyond the door, and the dream was one of their machinations? He didn't see how, but supposed it was possible. But what if the girl were real? another part of him asked. What if she were in trouble because of those two. The risk of running into the two destructive demons was worth it. His hand steadied, Kurama pounded on the door.


	5. Behind the Spells on the Door

Hokay, so, here's the new chapter. All pretty and long. . I have some really good ideas coming in the next chapter, so I hope you like what's happening so far. Please read and review, I always like that!

Iyami

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The pounding on the door echoed throughout the house, the vibrations bouncing off the high ceilings of the parlor, up the narrow stairs with its crooked steps, down the corridor and into the small room. Kara's eyes flew open at the sound. She had been lying on the small, once fancy, bed that lay in the corner, carefully protected by shadows. Immediately she started to quiver. Were they back? After all this time, were they back?

The quivers spread to her lungs, making her breathe erratically. She couldn't breathe! Kara panicked, remembering the last time Karasu had entered her room and nearly beaten her to death for the information she had kept from him for years. He would have killed Kara too, if Toguro had not stayed his hand again.

Kara's eyes darted across her enclosing walls and ceiling and slid across the door. She lunged at it and scratched at the wood. If she could just get out before they got there, she might have a chance. There were already deep pits and grooves in the sturdy door where she had scratched for years, hoping for a glimpse of freedom, but to no avail.

She was starting to turn red now. Now a light shade of blue from the loss of air to her brain. The ground rose up to meet her, a comforting embrace for the tortured girl. A strange embrace that encompassed her in complete darkness and release from the horrors of her existence. It was the first time she had had a dreamless, nightmare-less sleep since she could remember. And she welcomed it.

Outside at the door, Kurama listened apprehensively. There didn't seem to be any sound coming from the house. He raised his hand to knock again and heard a thump from somewhere above him. His breath caught in his throat. Were the two demons there and done something to the girl, thinking it was she who had led him there? Kurama had to help her.

Gathering his worry about him like a cloak, Kurama pulled a thin nettle out of his hair and worked it into the lock. Using the skills that he had acquired as a thief, Kurama the kitsune broke through the lock with ease, barely noticing the magics placed on it to protect the house from being entered by those who were unwelcome. He had trained himself to break even the most complicated of lock spells so as to keep him from being detected during a robbery, a fatal move in the demon world.

Pushing the door open, Kurama lunged inside and was swamped by the power that had collected in the wood, metal, and other materials that made up and resided within the house. More demons than just Toguro and Karasu had resided here. This was a place of great power, and was very old. Older than Yoko Kurama himself, or any demon he knew. Such thoughts as to how this place came to be would have to be put aside and answered later. Kurama had a job to do just now.

Using his knowledge of what the house seemed like from the outside, Kurama made his way to the staircase. The house inside seemed much bigger than its proportions would allow for, with high ceilings and large windows draped in blood red curtains and simple cream carpets embellished with intricate signs for power and protection. It did not seem like the home of demons, but demons were a strange creation.

Climbing the stairs, Kurama almost fell. The steps were placed unevenly, so as to confuse any thief who dared enter the house. This thief was too good to make noises in a fall, but Kurama kicked himself for not noticing the jagged steps that seemed to climb on and on up the narrow tunnel of ceiling and wall. Finally he reached the top and turned right into a corridor, five doors on each side. The doors on his left he ignored. The room he had seen the girl in was on the right. Three of the five of these were locked, the other two opened into a library and a room of mirrors, many of them draped with dusty sheets. Kurama busied himself on unlocking the three remaining doors.

The first he had no difficulty unlocking. No spells lay upon it and it opened to another room of mirrors with a large one spreading across the wall, startling the ex-demon with his own reflection. The second door contained a multitude of spells, many some of the most complex he had seen in some time. These spells would take time to work through. Carefully, Kurama pulled the red rose he kept hidden among his long tresses of hair and delicately pricked both his palms with it just enough to bring forth a drop of blood from each. He then pressed his palms together and laid them across the knob. The power in Kurama's blood mixed with his own knowledge of the spells shattered the knob to smoking pieces. The bronze from the door knob coated Kurama's hands, and he merely wiped them off on his nice robe, no longer paying heed to its value.

The door swung open, revealing the girl from Kurama's dream lying sprawled on the floor, her face a light blue that darkened by the instant. Starting at the sight of her, Kurama gasped and jumped up and nearly dove at the suffocating girl. She was hardly breathing, and even that was unevenly.

Kurama rummaged in his pocket for the special salve he had made for his mother to help her breathe easier and spread it on her neck and under her small nose. Immediately, she began to breathe regularly, and her color slowly faded to its normal shade. Whatever had made the girl pass out, it had nearly killed her.

Gingerly, Kurama lifted her tall frame, surprised at how light she was. It must have been some time since she had last had a good meal, and, judging by her pale complexion, since she had been able to go out into the sun. Her rags of a dress hung loosely about her and the side of her collar drooped off her shoulder. Her brown hair was gnarled and dirty, as was her face. Her arms, legs, and face all bore a variety of scars that ranged from seeming old enough to have healed all the way to those newly healed and slightly puffy and pink.

What kind of life had this girl known? She must have suffered greatly, judging by the scars. Was it all at Karasu's and Toguro's hands? Kurama would find out once she awoke, but for now, he had to take her somewhere safe. Hoisting her body as he made his way carefully down the treacherous stair, Kurama was all too glad to leave this house and its sense of evil foreboding. A good shower with lots of soap and salves would not be able to cleanse him of the inky black feeling that clung to his very soul and trailed him from the house.


	6. The Crow and The Dove

Thanks once again for waiting for my latest chapter. This one I am really proud of and I hope you enjoy it. I know it's long, but I think you'll like it. Please read and review.

Iyami

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For the first time in what seemed like forever, Kara dreamt.

She dreamed of the night that she had almost forgotten; the night when she first discovered her prince. Her dream-self walked through mist, a white nightgown, lighter than reality could ever permit, hanging from her slender shoulders. Her bare feet touched the ground lightly, and, despite the cold look of the place, she felt nothing. Before her loomed a cloud that sparkled with half formed images that shifted and swirled before taking any distinct shape, and around the cloud lay sleeping forms, both demon and human alike.

Kara made her way gracefully through the sleeping forms, careful not to disturb them. Ice had formed on many of their forms, but they did not seem to notice, their sleep was so deep. Kara raised her gaze to the cloud and reached out a hand to explore its composition when the image that lay within it changed, and a thousand faces screamed out at her to run.

So surprised was she that Kara fell backward onto the frost covered corpses that lingered around her. She covered her mouth to prevent a scream as the cloud fluctuated toward her. Kara scrambled backward, the ground suddenly more cold than anything she had ever felt or even dreamt. But she could not get away. The cloud engulfed her, and Kara felt her very essence being pulled out of her physical body. She tried to scream, but the gas of the cloud filled her lungs and only pulled at the very fabric of her being until it snapped and her core was stripped from her.

The cloud passed on, leaving her body behind to cover over with ice. Kara saw through her spirit all that lay within the cloud; rows and rows of souls. And in the center, sitting upon a throne of black and twisted ice, was a creature unlike any Kara had beheld. It was a thin man with bottomless pits for eyes and no hands, only razor sharp, gnarled, blades of ices. His head drifted into nothingness just above his eyes and below his lips, giving the distinct feeling that the creature was not really there at all, but just passing between realms. His legs draped elegantly over the seat of his throne and his very outline wavered and split into a thousand oscillations, filling the air with his very being.

Gently, he lifted his arm to point his icy fingers at the next globe of light in the long line of those souls unfortunate enough to cross his path. His fingers would twist and bend and wiggle with a sudden movement that cascaded over the essence of his victim and be absorbed into him. He was the most horrifying thing that Kara had ever seen, and was dubbed Seele esser. Kara felt it with horror and tried to run away, only to find she had no body with which to run.

Seele esser felt her struggle and turned to his newest victim. The older dinners-to-be had learned early on that escaping was impossible, but she was new. This insolence could be forgiven. His mouth full of black ice twisted into a grim smile and he tossed her essence to the side where the cloud grabbed her and threw her into a circular tomb made of the cloud that kept anything it pleased inside. Kara tried to scream but was rewarded with silence because of her lack of vocal cords.

She was not alone, however. In the corner, another victim's essence lay. Kara tried to beat her soul against her cage, but her efforts proved futile. Turning, resigned to her fate, Kara discovered her companion. Using all of her will, she forced herself over to him and his immense spirit energy. He was too strong! Kara felt herself being pulled into the light that was his soul and enter his being. Together their two souls mingled, finding a sort of serenity in each others company. They had become one, Kara and this nameless stranger. She could see the dark deeds he had done, and didn't mind. He felt in her a light that had never been revealed to him before, and was comforted that there was some hope left in the world beyond death and destruction.

The two were ripped apart and thrown into their own beings with the most unimaginable agony that could be devised. They had known peace, and it had been taken away, leaving the bleak, stained world about them. Seele esser stood above them, quivering with rage, for their souls had been tainted by one another. He hated giving back a good meal, and it was very rare that two souls actually had the ability to join one another into one entity. Relaxing slightly, Seele esser looked about. He had enough spirits to last him the hundred years he would be banished from this world. These two were just to make him more comfortable, not necessarily needed for survival.

With a grunt of disapproval, he released the two spirits from his grasp and their beings flew free of the cloud as if snapped from a taut cord. Kara was pulled back to her body, and the male she had mingled with flew to his, a dimension away.

It was some time before her dream-self awoke and shook the cold from her numb body. Her fingertips were blue from the cold and she quickly brushed them together to return the circulation. Looking up to the sky of the white plain she was currently residing on, Kara thought of the man she had been one with. Who was he, and would they ever meet again under different circumstances? A part of him was still with her. Kara felt an itch in her palm and looked at the small outline under her skin of a crow in what looked like a pale ink.

Gripping her hand tightly, Kara closed her dream eyes and recalled the beauty of the peace they had shared. It was the most wonderful thing she had ever felt.

Darkness consumed her dream as time passed and Kara's dream-self emerged in the city of demons, her two sisters at her side, their arms linked together as always. They laughed together and walked on, their white gowns billowing and flowing around them. Someone looking at the group would think them to be human, for they acted not in the grim manner of the demons, but in the joyful, happy serenity of humanity.

The girls walked on down the street, not noticing the group of dark demons that loomed in the shadows about them and fell instep on both sides and behind the three females. They were stopped abruptly when a tall demon with horns and skin the texture of sandpaper and the color of bog slime stepped into their path.

Kara sized him up, and unlinked her arms with those of her sisters. The demon took a step toward her and looked her up and down. Kara squirmed under his appraising eye, for he judged her as if she were a rare relic instead of a living thing. A smile contorted his horrible face as the groups that had flanked the girls closed in and prevented escape. One to Kara's right reached out a slimy hand to touch Pheare, Kara's twin, and was rewarded by a sharp jolt of electricity from the three girls' shared powers.

It pulled back its hand in pain and the demon that hand blocked the girls' path, the leader it appeared, landed a well planted punch to his gut, knocking the air out of it, and serving as a warning against any further efforts to touch the three. He turned back to the three and his jaws opened with a dry crack.

"The three of you will come to the arena," he wheezed "The Lord Karasu is to be married to the female with the power most adept to his needs."

Confused, the three girls looked at each other, Pheare's eyes holding confusion, and Daermon's, the youngest of the three by a century, holding anger for the intrusion.

"And just why would we do that?" Daermon asked, her musical voice dry with scorn, "We have no intentions of getting married in the near future." Her brown eyes burned into the lead demon, reading his inner soul, as was one of her abilities.

"Daer" Kara said warningly "do not cause mischief where none is needed." She stepped in front of her rash sister and told her telepathically _There is no need to create enemies when we are surrounded._ Daermon looked furiously at the ground, her hands clenched into tight balls at her side.

"We shall come with you, but with no intention to marry anyone" Pheare offered, trying to defuse the tension between her two sisters that often arose over petty instances.

The demon turned and led them down the street lined with dark windows with hidden eyes that observed the crowd around the girls curiously. They were not fool enough to attack the procession, even with the possibilities three innocent looking girls such as these could dangle in front of their watchful eyes. Their power could easily be felt by all, and the host of demons around them, many of them lower level, were too many in number for a single demon, or even a small group, such as many of the ones the locals ran in, could defeat.

The girls entered the arena minutes later, an impressive building with a misguiding name. The arena stood three stories high and was built of old granite and was decorated by ornate carvings of demons battling to the death or killing helpless groups of human women and children. It was not actually an arena at all, but a training school for the higher class demon children of the demon world. This was one of the few places in the demon world with a sort of society run with order and efficiency. Many of the other settlements were plagued with fighting and distrust.

The demon led them into the building, his band of guards floating off into the rooms that branched off of the main hall. The entry way opened up into a reception area, furnished with the treasures of demons; human skins and heads mounted on the walls as well as the heads of strong beasts, not considered to be of the same race as the demons that trained at the arena, such as centaurs and minotaurs.

The girls followed their guide through the reception hall and into a large banquet hall were hundreds of other female demons sat, all beautiful to their own kinds. The all also looked at one another with mistrust and loathing, but kept from battling one another by the watchful eyes of the matriarchal demonesses that mingled about, whips, morningstars, or other weapons tapping threateningly in their palms.

The three sisters were led to a table at the back of the hall, as most of the other tables were already filled, and were shoved roughly into their seats by their escort, who left them in the capable hands of the armed demonesses. Pheare looked at Daermon and raised a brow, then shared the look with Kara. They all shared the same thoughts of interest in just what was going on in this strange city that they had just come to a month ago.

Out of nowhere, a ball of pure energy engulfed the room, and the screams of the weaker demons that could not stand its power grew to deafening levels. The three sisters found themselves involuntarily covering their ears, trying to stop the horrible screams of the dying. The energy ball dissipated and those that had survived stood after a moment, the ringing from the noise still resounding in their ears.

The demonesses walked through the room, appraising the survivors, and pointing at those that had been seriously wounded by the blast, where upon a burly demon would roughly take her and parade her out of the hall to some indistinguishable fate. Kara looked frantically at her two sisters, making sure they were not dead or wounded. Both Pheare and Daermon had survived with no more than minor scratches, and Kara herself had only a few nicks and a headache.

One of the demonesses, a fat female with only green horns and long nails and teeth revealing her heritage, approached the girls and grabbed first Pheare, and then Kara by the chin and turned their heads this way and that. Satisfied, she moved on the Daermon, who grabbed her approaching hand and bent it back with a meaningful glare. The demonesses returned Daermon's look and broke her hand away. "You're fine" she stated in a husky voice and moved on to the next group of girls.

Kara and Phaere gave Daermon meaningful glares. Kara surveyed the room. Most of the girls had been either destroyed or taken away. Only about twenty were left. An explosion from the front of the room brought the remaining girls attention to what had a moment ago been double doors with elaborate engravings, but were now blacked bits of wood and ash. Out of the smoke came a dark figure, his cape draped about him with its tattered collar and fringe sticking away from his body, and the red collar of his low cut shirt accentuating his intense black eyes, framed by long black hair. The lower half of his face was hidden behind a mask, but it was obvious that he had a handsome face under its protective surface. His tight, black pants showed off his slim, but powerful figure. Over all, he was a figure that would make a girl swoon.

Phaere, Daermon, and Kara were not attracted to him physically, however. Something about him was familiar to Kara though. Out of nowhere, he raised a hand and threw a dark, round, object into a group of five girls, who exploded before any of them could move. The sisters stared at him in shock, not believing what their eyes had just shown them. He turned his gaze to them next and raised his hand again, but stopped when his eyes met Kara's. For a moment that seemed like an eternity, his gazed at her and found a glimpse of serenity that was all too familiar to him.

Gently, he lowered his hand and the explosive disappeared. Karasu advanced slowly toward Kara, his breath escaping his lips in short gasps of disbelief. For countless moments, the engraving of a dove on his palm had tormented him, for those many years ago he had left a part of himself within that strange girl as she had left some of her within him. Now he could feel that this dark haired girl with strength resonating from her eyes was the soul he had shared perfection with.

His slow gate gained speed until it was a run and he was standing in front of her. Kara looked up into his eyes with disbelief. For moments that seemed to stretch on forever, they looked into each others souls and found what they were missing. As if moved by a force beyond their own comprehension, they both raised their left hand and pressed them together. The patterns of the two birds joined together on their palms to form a circle. In that instant, they felt complete again, and knew that they had found the other half that they were missing.

Pheare and Daermon looked from one to the other with disbelief, for Kara had told her siblings of her encounter with Seele esser and the soul she had joined with, but her sisters had passed it off without a second thought. Now they were awestruck.

Kara sat up in a strange place, the bright blue sheets of a strange bed wrapped tightly around her, holding her in their unrelenting grasp. Her breath quickened as she looked at the unfamiliar walls and out the window that was not the portal to her prison, and screamed.


End file.
